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Mark Riley

Treasurer Jim Chalmers declared cost of living is improving after the release of the March quarter national accounts. 

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MARK RILEYComments
opinion
Chalmers now says we’re better off - why not before?

New data shows wages, inflation and jobs are improving, but Labor didn’t want to say voters were ‘better off’ until after the election.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

“Sussan Ley has a particular skill to get under the Prime Minister’s skin” says Mark Riley.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyComments
opinion
Sussan Ley must out-Albanese the Prime Minister

The better approach for Sussan Ley would be to out-Albanese the Prime Minister — to adopt his more constructive, consensus-style approach and weaponise it against him. 

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Peter Dutton’s important decision to bin his policy forcing public servants back to the office full-time came too late.

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Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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With eight campaign days left, it may be too late for Dutton

Liberal campaign volunteers are reporting a perceptible change in the attitudes of voters answering their doors to them this week in Perth’s outer suburbs, but is it too late?

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Donald Trump’s announcement of a pause on tariffs has effectively killed off Anthony Albanese’s strongest defence to the economic tirade, writes Mark Riley.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyComments
opinion
Not so special: How Trump’s tariff pause destroyed PM claims

Donald Trump's announcement of a pause on tariffs has effectively killed off Anthony Albanese’s strongest defence to the economic tirade, writes Mark Riley.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

An ability to manage the volatile US President’s moods is shaping up to be a key factor in the Federal election.

Mark RileyCommentsHunt is on for ‘Trump Whisperer’ ahead of looming election

MARK RILEY: Who can best manage Australia’s relationship with Donald Trump will be the key foreign policy question in the coming election campaign. 

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference at the National Situation Room in Canberra, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AAP Image/Lukas Coch) NO ARCHIVING

opinion
opinion
MARK RILEYCommentsPremium
opinion
Will Cyclone Alfred impact Federal election timing?

Journalists aren’t the only people curious about how the cyclone’s arrival might affect Albanese’s thinking on whether to visit the Governor-General on Sunday or Monday to call an election for April 12.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Electoral Donation Reform.

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opinion
Mark RileyComments
opinion
Voters screwed twice by Palmer-busting donation reform

If the crossbench’s primary consideration is to honour the will of the people, then it would be easy to argue that their will was to remove Labor from power.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

In the hearts and minds of many voters, Albanese’s first-term Government has been a disappointment.

opinion
opinion
MARK RILEYCommentsPremium
opinion
Dutton, Albo and the ‘better off/worse off’ challenge

The economic data tells us Australians are actually better off than they were in 2022. Good luck getting voters to believe it

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

MARK RILEY: Labor Premier Steven Miles has run the better campaign. It probably won’t matter. The groundswell for change has been building for two years. When Queensland swings, it swings hard. 

opinion
opinion
MARK RILEYCommentsPremium
opinion
Promise of a free lunch won’t save Labor in Queensland

Labor Premier Steven Miles has run the better campaign. It probably won’t matter. The groundswell for change has been building for two years.When Queensland swings, it swings hard.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Papua New Guineawith PNG PM James Marape.

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opinion
Mark RileyComments
opinion
Albo’s Kokoda Track trek a reminder of nations’ sacred bond

MARK RILEY: A fallen tree trunk halfway up a vertiginous mountain in the crippling humidity of the PNG jungle turns out to be the perfect place to engage in a bit of a deep and meaningful with two PMs.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Dutton trying to steal the Dunkley trophy Illustration: Don Lindsay

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
Both parties throwing everything they have at Dunkley poll

The Parliament is acting like a giant funnel this week in a manner that has left many observers scratching their heads.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Asylum Boat radar ....Peter Dutton Illustration: Don Lindsay

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
Parties tread over old battlegrounds as by-election looms

In just eight days, the voters of Dunkley will go to a by-election that will act as a litmus test for the Albanese Government.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Dutton is promising to take a revised tax plan to the next election, based on the principles of the original stage three.

opinion
opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
PM wins first round of tax battle, but war is far from over

Former Labor cabinet minister Joel Fitzgibbon was renowned for his straight talking. It frequently got him into trouble. Often with his own side.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Albanese on the net.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Ball is in Dutton’s court as Libs weigh up tax cuts response

A new measure has appeared in the preponderance of polling that takes the temperature of the Australian electorate.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese re-framing.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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No pretty picture: Referendum defeat shatters Labor’s belief

Government strategists often talk of establishing ‘political frames’. It is an important part of what they do.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Calls for ministerial scalps could backfire on the Coalition

To paraphrase the late, great astrophysicist Carl Sagan ‘there is no such thing as a stupid question’. There are only bad answers.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese must reconnect with voters.

review
review
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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With perceptions shifting, PM must reconnect with voters

Things are beginning to turn for the Albanese Government. The impression it has built of controlled authority is looking shaky.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Peter Dutton has thrown all caution to the wind. He’s going all out and all in.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Battlelines redrawn as debate turns ugly

The nature of the political contest changed on Wednesday. Irrevocably. The clash of leaders has become nasty, ugly, visceral.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Albanese defrosting the Chinese deep freeze Illustration: Don Lindsay

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
opinion
Australia’s resilience forced China to use a different tack

Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing’s famous Temple of Heaven this week was a moment rich in metaphor and symbolism. But not everyone was thrilled.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Albanese says he wants an ‘open and honest relationship’ with China, one ‘with no surprises’.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Does Albanese have the courage to be a true friend to China?

Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generations wasn’t just the best speech he delivered in office, it was one of the best by any prime minister since federation.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

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Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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PM Albanese’s best speech yet

Somewhere along the line, someone realised that having two world leaders doing the Rock Lobster on the White House lawns while bombs rained down on Gaza might not be a good look. 

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Airbus Albo Illustration: Don Lindsay

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Albo hits turbulence: Pressing issues making travel tough

Labor backbenchers tell me even their rusted-on supporters are getting uncomfortable with the amount of time the Prime Minister is spending abroad.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

Sheik Ahmed Yassin.

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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When hostilities run deep, there is no prospect for peace

Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, seemed nothing like the imposing figure I’d imagined as his bodyguards wheeled him into a room in northern Gaza, in October, 2000.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley

John Howard and Anthony aAlbanese Illustration: Don Lindsay

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opinion
Mark RileyCommentsPremium
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Howard and Albanese have more in common than you’d think

The comparisons at first sounded too wild to deserve serious consideration. “Albo and John Howard are very similar people,” the senior Labor figure told me. I scoffed. Naturally.

Mark Riley

Mark Riley